MP 1311 E>4 B M SfiM D32 CO en Portraits of Great Men and Women of Our Time With Interesting Testimonials by the Most Prominent Art Critics and Leading Men of Intellect of France, England, Switzerland and America THE BOSTON GLOBE, September, 17, 1916. Paints World's Elect August Benziger's Portraits are of the Eminent Men and Women of Europe and the United States By a. J. Philpott A. Benziger is one of the world's great portrait painters and there is nothing that is much more nerve-racking than conscientious portrait paint- ing. An artist must be keyed up to what might For there is probably no other painter in the world who has painted portraits of so many dis- tinguished people, both in Europe and in this country. When you look through the album of photographs from his paintings you feel as if this man had selected — or had been selected to paint — the men and women, especially the men, who have figured most prominently in this age; the men who have stood for something in the world. He just naturally seems to like to paint the portraits of such people, and evidently they just as naturally like to have their portraits painted by him. And there is a reason for this — several reasons. Portrait ly A. Benziger WALLACE H. ROWE of Pittsburgh, Pa. President of the Pittsburgh Steel and Wire Co. be termed "concert pitch" all the time he is working on a portrait if he would paint that portrait in a manner to satisfy both himself and the sitter. For his patrons are among the "elect" of the world and that makes the re- sponsibility all the greater. His position was very well defined by an admirer, who said: " If your portrait had been painted by Copley in Colonial days it would be proof that you were among the 'elect' of that period; if j'our portrait is painted to-day by Benziger it shows you are among the 'elect' of to-day." In an age of such great portrait painters as we have to-day this might seem like an extravagant statement, but when you consider the jjepple whose portraits Au^ijst; Benz^ge^ ;lk^»;naitited you have to admit 'th^T forc-j 6t tha-'aiseution. Portrait hy A, Benziger MRS. WALLACE H. ROWE He is a Cosmopolitan One reason lies in the personality of the man himself. That personality of his carries con- viction. He not only knows how to paint people, but he knows how to handle them. He is a big man himself, in pltysique, in temperament and in intellect — a man of the world — a cosmopoli- tan. He knows and understands the big things of the world and he is an admirer of the men and women who are associated with the big things of the world. He has painted several of the Popes and Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church; several of the Presidents of the Swiss republic; three of the Presidents of the United States — all from life — -President Diaz of Mexico; a number of eminent French and English statesmen and a whole gallery ot the merchant prii financiers and eminent men generall; country. Mr. Benziger is a portrait painter. He aims to get a likeness of the person he is painting and in that likeness he aims to get the strong characteristics of the person — of the face. And the pose is largely dictated by the strongest characteristic of the person. In this he centers attention on the eyes, for he finds that the strongest characteristics of nearly rSOM THE PBESIBENI.S OPPICE TO THE roiVEESITY LIBEAEY IS a you con- siderate, 'that IS it iL..i.„. _. ^ that it is a veritable summary of the man who con- tracts to supply nations with their necessities in iron and steel, for either peace or war, as other men contract to do a piece of work for a firm or an individual. It is this summarizing of a man's character in his portrait that makes Benziger popular with Two representative young Americans, painted for their families, before leaving for the front, in France Portrait 61/ A. Benziger Portrait by A. Benziger MR. HENRY C. GIBSON MR. HENRY G. BROCK of Philadelphia of Philadelphia Grandsons of Mr. Henry Gibson, who gave to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts its first and finest art collection every individual center around the eyes and radiate from the eyes to the forehead, the nose, mouth and chin. The life story is not only told in the eyes, but the dominant characteristic — the personality — of the individual is in the eyes and in the expression of the eyes. In this respect his work reminds one of Lenbach, the famous German portrait painter who painted so many portraits of Prince Bismarck. He was the only painter who sensed the power in Bismarck's eyes. You feel this in Mr. Benziger's portrait of the present Pope — Pope Benedict XV — the spiritual power and kindliness and the fine dignity. In the portrait of J. Pierpont Morgan you feel all of the keen penetration of the financier's wonder- ful eyes, and the decision of the jaw, with the powerful intellect behind it all. In the remarkable portrait of Charles M. Schwab you see the calm, comprehensive look such people them. -they feel that he understands Becomes an Artist If August Benziger had not been swept into art by his own early inclinations he would un- doubtedly have become a successful business man — for he knows human nature in the broad and the long. His father was one of the biggest book publishers in Switzerland, and the father did not desire that his son should become a painter; but the fates and August Benziger him- self decided otherwise, and he ran away from his home in Brunnen early in life to study art in Paris. There he studied at the Juhen and Beaux Arts, exhibited at the Salon and — what was more im- portant than schools or teachers — got into the atmosphere and caught the fine enthusiasm of the Parisian art world. Paris welcomes those ^6789 Portrait by A. Benziger COLONEL D. C. POOLE Madison, Wis. who can do or those who are strugghng to do, regardless of creed, color, race or nationality. It is the one real cosmopolis of the world. In Benziger there was a desire to see and know and paint the portraits of the really great people in the world. He found the world in the faces of men and women — found what the world had done to those faces and somewhat of what the faces had done to and for the world. These human documents were the realities of life and history for him. These were the men who had forced themselves from obscurity to places of distinction in the world. And there were the others on whom fortune had always smiled; those who had been "born in the purple." Both were interesting, but somehow you feel that this man has a keener sympathy with those who have toiled and conquered than with those who have not been obliged to wage the battles of silence with themselves. Famous Portraits of Schwab You feel that he has as great a respect for Schwab as for J. Pierpont Morgan, and he was a profound admirer of the latter, and you feel that he has a finer sympathy with such prelates as Cardinal Gibbons and Cardinal Farley — men who have risen by sheer force of ability — than for prelates who were members of great families. The portraits which he has painted of these two distinguished churchmen seem to convey that impression. They are vital portraits. It is only possible to pick here and there from the many portraits he has painted a few of those that happen to catch the eye for some occult reason. There is one portrait of Roosevelt in which you seem to feel all of the leonine strength of the man — the determination and force. There is another in which you seem to feel the intellectual qualities of the man. The portrait of Diaz reminds one almost of Bismarck. There is power in the face. The portrait of McKinley is full of that sweet pa- tience that characterized the man. The portrait of Taft, painted before he was President, shows him as the diplomat. The portrait of the venerable United States Senator Cullom is as fine a bit of character painting as it is possible to conceive. It was painted in the Senate chamber from life — the only portrait ever painted in that chamber. In the portrait of Albert S. Caldwell of Memphis, Tenn., you see a fine type of the men who have made the "New South," and in the portrait of Gen. Luke E. Wright you see the born organizer and leader. In the portrait of Richard Croker you see the dominating force of the man, and in that of United States Senator O'Gorman you seem to see a good deal of the idealist in a face that is marked with rare strength. In the face of President Forrer of Switzerland you see the type that is plainly paternal — the father among his people. What fight and determination there is in the face of Henry Phipps, the old partner of Carnegie; and what thoughtfulness in the face of Fayette Brown of Cleveland. There is fine strength and comprehensiveness in the portrait of George C. Jenkins of Baltimore, and somehow you feel the same qualities in the face of Michael Jenkins. There is intellectual power and keen penetration in the portrait of U. T. Hungerford of New York, and there is both force and in- tellect in that of John Markle of New York. Portraits of Guild and Phipps The portrait of Hon. Curtis Guild, painted while he was Ambassador to Russia, is thought- Portrait hy A. lienxigcr CAPTAIN JOHN HUDSON POOLE of Detroit, Michigan ful and suggestive of the responsibilities he bore at that time. The portrait of Alexander Graham Bell is veritably a "speaking" likeness, and the portrait of J. H. Patterson of Dayton, Ohio, is full of that nervous energy that char- acterizes the man. There are others in which you seem to see the life history of the men; and they are all men who have done something sub- stantial in the world. In his portraits of women August Benziger aims to get the leading feminine characteristic, and he finds much of this in the eyes, but he also finds much in the grace of form of his sitters. You feel these qualities in his portraits of Mme. de Truffin; in that of Mrs. John B. Semple; in that of Miss Isabel Pereda of Buenos Aires; in that of Miss Gloria Castella of Havana, and in that of Miss Edith Tener of Sewickley, Pa., and you see that he is keenly sensitive to the maternal side of woman in the pictures of mothers and children he has painted. It is certainly a wonderful series of portraits which this man has painted. He is fortunate, however, in one woman whose portrait he has yet to paint — Mrs. August Benziger. Her charm and tact, and her fine sense and under- standing are important factors in his success. She and their three daughters make the home life the fine and necessary complement to all the wear and tear and anxiety of painting portraits. Portrait ly A. Benziger PROFESSOR JOHN A. BRASHEAR The well-known astronomer, one of Pittsburgh's most dearly beloved citizens, who has received nearly all possible degrees from the universities in this country and Europe. Designated by Governor Brumbaugh as Pennsylvania's most dis- tinguished citizen Portrait by A. Benziger CHARLES F. BROOKER of Ansonia, Conn. President American Brass Co., Chairman of Com- mittee on Brass National Council of Defense. Honorable A. M. Yale University. Vice-Presi- dent Board N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co. Director N. Y., Ont. & Western Ry. Co.; U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co.; Second National Bank, New Haven; First National Bank, Boston; Co- lonial Trust Co., Waterbury, etc., etc. Mr. Benziger has a studio in Brunnen, Switzerland, and one in New York. He is Swiss by birth, American by adoption, but a man of the world in thought and in action. PARIS, JOURNAL DE L'ATLANTIQUE Auguste Benziger A Great Painter of Portraits By H. Villiers B.\rnett Louis Robin, Redacteur en chef, Paris. There are not more than five leading portrait- painters to-day in the whole world: Auguste Benziger is one of them. He is one of them by reason of three things: The great number of his commissions; the social pre-eminence and, in many cases, the world-wide interest of his sitters; and his astonishing and original technical powers. The powers explain the vogue. The essence of potraiture is likeness; and like- ness is the instantly striking and alluring quality of every portrait that the one is physical, the other psychological, truth. The one, even in its simplest, most material manifestation, involves the highest technical skill; the other, even at its lowest significance, involves the keenest insight into mind and soul. For while nothing physical is so difficult to paint as the quality of flesh, nothing spiritual is so complex and elusive as the expression of a sitter's soul. Thus, the Portrait iy A. Benziger Portrait by A. Benziger MR. AND MRS. JAMES HARTNESS of Springfield, Vermont James Hartness, an author and inventor, having over 100 American patents, best known as the inventor and manufacturer of the flat turret lathe; inventor of the turret equatorial telescope, and at his residence in Springfield may be seen the only underground observatory in the country. His honorary degrees are M. E. of the University of Vermont and M. A. of Yale University. Chair- man of the State Board of Education of Vermont. Past President of the American Society of Mechan- ical Engineers; a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science, and of the Royal Astronomical Society. Member Astronomical Society of American Engineers Club, Machinery Club, Royal Society Club of London, British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, etc. business of a portrait-painter is and comprehend the soul of his sitter and ex- press it — eloquent, lum- inous, living — through an accurate representa- tion of the purely physi- cal phenomena of flesh, dress, and material ac- cessories. It is the truthful union of the two that always has made, and ever must make, great portrait- painters; it is precisely because he unites them truthfully that Auguste Benziger is verily a great portrait -painter. Among the very ablest technicians of paint, he is a master of shapes and surfaces; a kcen-visioned commander of character he is one of the most penetrating and subtle psychologists since IMor- land in England and Ricard in France. His command of char- to discover Portrait MRS. acter, of the individual mind and spirit, is patent almost at a glance, to anyone who has seen his portraits of great men: those for instance, of Presidents Roosevelt, TaftandMcKinley. All these are documents as vital as the men them- selves. To see the por- trait is to know the men. There are scores of portraits of leaders of business, captains of in- dustry, bankers, priests, sportsmen, thinkers, every human tjpe. And they are all so vari- ous, so individual, so independent of each other in style and in feeling. But the force of Ben- ziger's men is equalled by the fairness of his women and the charm of his children. He is no mere specialist in a single department. He is not engaged, as are so 1)1/ A. Benziger WORCESTER REED WARNER of Cleveland Portrait hy A. Benziger WILLIAM K. BIXBY President of the St. Louis Museum of Art, and owner of one of the best collections of manu- scripts and missals in the United States Portrait 6j/ A. Benziger Copyrighted THE LATE J. P. MORGAN One of the greatest financiers the world has ever known. The portrait is not only an exact rep- resentation of that great personality, but it shows also splendid qualities of energy, capacity for work, and refinement Portrait by A. Benziger WORCESTER R. WARNER of the Warner & Swasey Co. Constructor of the Lick Observatory and donor of the fund for art bearing his name at the Cleve- land Art Museum, of which he is a director Portrait by A. Partner of the Benziger S. H. KNOX of Buffalo F. W. Woolworth Co. of the Albright Art Museum Director many Professional Portrait-Painters, in turning sitter after sitter into the same mould — in forcing every diversity of humanity to lit a single and unchanging formula of facile misrepresentation. On the contrary. He is a universal artist, who finds a new formula for every face, and solves the individual problem of every character by means of the new personal equation which it and art demand. Be it youth or age, intellect or beauty, sheer loveliness or rugged force, a man of affairs or a woman of fashion, mother- hood or childhood, a great ecclesiastic or a great princess — whatsoever he sets out to paint he paints with an in- tense determination to e.xpress the essential character, be it gracious or grim. A seeker of truth, he can and in- variably does express it in all its phases. He is a realist alike of mas- culine force and of fem- inine tenderness. He is as masterly in the soul of grace as he is masterful in the spirit ' of sternness. He is the most versatile of all the portrait-painters of our time; and in each direction he ranks among the greatest. To the art expert nothing is more inter- esting than the unus- ual technics of this great painter of men, women and children. A pupil of three painters distinguished by strong technical individuality he has evolved a power- ful stjde of his own. In the style of Bcnziger you can trace neither Muller's, nor Bouguereau's, nor Bonnat's. It is his own: as solid as Bonnat's, as supple and delicate as Gainsborough's. Cabanel never painted flesh more wonderfully; and in some portraits — the Roosevelts, for instance — Sar- gent's miraculous, uncanny "nervousness" is out-Sargented. Invariably the style grows from, and belongs to, the subject. Withal he is a colorist: a magician of rich contrasts and gorgeous harmonies, as well as of the tonal simplicities. The portraits here reproduced, wonderful as they are, are but partially representative of this painter's profound, impressive genius. They speak for themselves; in vigor of likeness, in vivid differentiation of character, in their almost crushing effects of vital and personal significance. Strong men — in law and legislation, in State and business — these predominate; but Benziger's exquisite gifts in the portrayal of women and children are also represented. However, no reproduction can do justice to the originals' Portrait by A. Benziger JAMES PHINNEY BAXTER Historian and writer, who has done much for his home city, Portland, Maine, and whose latest book, "The Greatest of Literary Problems," was the authority for Judge Tuthill's decision in the recent Shakespeare-Baconian law suit in Chicago power and charm. Black-and-white give light and shade, but not color, and even the finest photo-engra\ing misses something of the paint- ing's spiritual force and mysteries. Ev'en so, these prints v'ividly explain why so many people prefer a portrait by Benziger to any photograph that ever was. For a portrait by him is not merelj- a startling likeness; it is life itself; the body — and — the soul. When the real history of the United States in the past twenty years, and in the years im- mediately to come, shall be written, it will be found that Benziger's portraits are the most illuminating and con- vincing documents, re- cording and explaining the characters of the nation's representative men. BOSTON NATIONAL MAGAZINE By B. p. Stephenson To have painted from life the portraits of seven presidents of re- publics and of two popes is a boast that very few artists can make. Such is the rec- ord of August Benziger, and to the gallery of these famous person- ages he has added car- dinals, ambassadors, generals of armies and captains of industry, statesmen and poli- ticians, men of almost every calling, of every kind of type. While limning the features and, what is still more important, finding the true expression of his sitters' souls, the artist, with searching insight, has seen men as they really are, and has gathered from them interesting and not widely known incidents that have led to what now makes history. So when you sit in August Benziger's New York studio at No. 140 West o7th Street, surrounded by life-like portraits of notable men, you can enjoy many a delightful hour discuss- ing his art, and hearing him outhne the little traits of character of his famous sitters and the interesting talks he has had with them. It has been said of Mr. Benziger that "his command of character, of the individual mind and spirit, is patent almost at a glance, to any one who has seen his portraits of great men." Take for instance, the portrait of the late Curtis Guild, ordered by him for the Boston State House. The portrait of President Roosevelt was painted in the Blue Room for the Historical Museum of Chicago, and endorsed by Governor Guild in a letter to the artist as "by all odds the verv best that has been done." One of the utterances of President Roosevelt of vital interest to America to-day and one with which Mr. Benziger wishes President Wilson would take the same view as the former Presi- dent, was his observation that the Swiss mili- tary system was the best in the world and would be the proper one for this country to adopt. In painting the portrait of President Taft, Mr. Benziger has represented him as the man of intellect and has discarded that unctuous grin with which it seems to be the fashion among most portraitists to endow him. It was said of the portrait of Mr. Taft by one famous foreign painter, who, because he could paint joyous sea beach scenes, American patrons in- sisted he must also be able to paint portraits, that fat as he had made Mr. Taft, the portrait had belittled the origi- nal. There is no be- littHng in INIr. Ben- ziger's portrait. You recognize the intellect and big heart of the sitter. Let us turn to Mr. Benziger's Ecclesiasti- cal portraits. That of Pope Leo XIII was painted in 1893, and is one of the most famous of the artist's works. It has been held by connoisseurs to be far superior to those by Lenbach, Chartran and Benjamin Constant. It is so intensely human, it is the kindly aristo- crat combined with the astute diplomat. You see the man as he really was in his intimate life, not the Head of the Church posed and sur- rounded by the pomp of State. Some hold the Cardinal Gibbons por- trait to be a finer mas- terpiece even than that of Pope Leo, "a full im- pressive expression of the Church, the Priest and the Man," as it has been called. Grand modelling, too, is there in the head of Cardinal Farley. Quite a remarkable work is the portrait of J. Pierpont Morgan. Here again is no posing; it is the very man himself, caught as he really was and without his giving a sitting, for even the least vain of men cannot help putting on an e.xpression not true to himself when he finds himself posing before a canvas. And the way Mr. Benziger got the great financier's true ex- pression is interesting. His friend Mr. Bowdoin was one of Mr. Morgan's partners. This gentleman gave the artist plenty of opportunities of seeing Mr. Morgan at work in his office, and of making studies without Mr. Morgan being Portrait by A. Benziger JOHN PITCAIRN The only survivor of those who saved the life of President Lincoln when Pinkerton had discovered the complot to assassinate him after the banquet on Washington's birthday in Harrisburg. Mr. Pitcairn at that time was connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was the first man to use natural gas. His home is in Philadelphia, and he was formerly associated with Carnegie and Rockefeller and connected with many of the leading institutions in America, and is still Presi- dent of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company aware of it. The artist studied him, too, in the street, he studied him at the opera, he studied him at the Metropolitan Museum, he studied him in this country and in Europe, but the last studies he made were at the banking house in Wall Street. And the result is not only a re- markable likeness, but the painted record of a leader of men accustomed to command and to be obeyed. Here indeed is a real human docu- ment. Another striking likeness and also a document of interest is the portrait of Senator O'Gorman. Another senatorial portrait of particular in- terest is that of tlie late Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois. In Febru- ary, 1912, Mr. Ben- ziger was asked to go to Washington to paint a portrait of Senator Cullom, to be placed in the rooms of the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations. It was arranged that the artist should make studies of the Senator during his last sitting in the Senate when he presented his last two bills. Upon the completion of the portrait. Sena- tors Root, O'Gorman and the others on the committee passed on it, and Senator Root remarked that the last portrait he had passed on was one at the ]\Iet- ropolitan Museum, of which he is a director. He congratulated the artist warmly, sayinj; that he had immor- talized Shelby Cullom, representing the best in the last fifteen years of his life. But it must not be supposed that Mr. Ben- ziger is only a painter of men. He has portrayed many charming women, and his children are delightful. Among others he has painted the Duchesse d'Aosta (Princesse Laetitia Bonaparte) of Turin; Duchesse de Sermonete and Marquise de Rocca- giovine of Rome; Princesse Merschersky of St. Petersburg; Marquise de Toulongeon of Paris; Princesse Duleep-Singh of London and India; and Mrs. Charles S. Keith of Kansas City; Mrs. Lew Wallace, wife of the author of "Ben Hur"; and Mrs. Benjamin Douglass, Jr. His very first fame was established by por- traits of women, and while painting Made- moiselle Delasalle, the Prime Minister of France, M. Leon Bourgeois, was several times present at the sittings at Mr. Benziger's studio. This success induced the Prime Minister to have his own portrait painted by the artist. Mr. Benziger studied at Julian's under Bou- gucrcau, and afterward became a pupil of Bonnat at the Beaux Arts. The portrait of Leo XIII, which he painted when he was twenty-six, at- tracted great attention in the artist world, and since then his career has been one of uninter- rui)led success. In all Mr. Benziger's career he has never had his portraits refused at an exhibition, and has Bouguereau, Detaille, Carolus-Durand, Aime Morot, Roybet, Gerome, and Chartran. Mr. Benziger is no believer in impressionism. He is satisfied to be a disciple of such a man as Holbein and is as careful about modelling hands as he is about the features of the face and gives prominence in his work to the eyes as the mirror of the soul. There is no slap dash about his work. He lays in his jjortraits as carefully as Portrait by A. Benziger MME. REGIS DU REPAIRE DE TRUFFIN of Havana, Cuba Portrait hy A. Benziger REGIS DU REPAIRE DE TRUFFIN of Havana, Cuba One of its most prominent financiers and Russian Consul General been represented in the most exclusive exhibits in France, such as the Cercle de I'Union Artis- tique and the Cercle Artistique et Litteraire, as well as the Salon. At the only two world's fairs to which he sent his portraits, they were not only accepted, but rewarded. ISIr. Benziger has been made a knight of different orders and also an officer and commander. Mr. Benziger does not find time to pay atten- tion to exhibitions, but was invited by the .\cademy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia to exhibit his Roosevelt portrait. After painting Mr. Robert S. Brookings, president of the Washing- ton University of St. Louis, the Museum of Fine Arts made a special exhibition of his works, as well as the .Mliright Gallery of Buffalo. How- ever, Mr. Benziger has taken the habit of making an annual exhibition at his spacious New York studio. As far back as 1892 he was mentioned by the great art critics of Europe with such masters as Henner, Benjamin-Constant, Bonnat, did the old masters. The result is that his flesh tones painted twenty years ago are as fresh as they were when the picture left the easel, and his coloring, for Mr. Benziger is a colorist, as brilliant. NEW YORK EVENING POST, Fchruary 5 1895. — From the Wcstminslcr Gazette, London. A Portrait of the Pope .\t last an artist has succeeded in obtaining a portrait of the Pope as he really is. So far Leo XIII has always objected to be immortalized in any picture wearing spectacles, though as a matter of fact, he is never in ordinary life without them. Spectacles, the head of the Church of Rome hath it, interfere with the artistic success of a portrait; and spectacles, therefore, he will not wear when he is sitting to a photographer or 10 Portrait by A. Benziger THE LATE CURTIS GUILD Three times Governor of Massachusetts and ambassador to Russia artist. Not even the great Lenbach himself was allowed to paint the Pope other than in an unnaturally erect position and without glasses. Now at last, a Swiss artist, Mr. Benziger, has succeeded, by a little ruse to obtain a true and very interesting likeness of the fine head of Leo XIII. The artist was among those who recently obtained an audience of the Pope. He was one of the first to be presented, and retired after the ceremony, into the background, where he was able to do what no one yet had succeeded in doing, namely, to get a sketch in profile of the Pope's head in which there is absolutely no posing. Leo XIII looks an old man, with all the signs of old age upon him, but besides these, the portrait also shows the remarkable vivacity of the face which is characteristic of the Pope and the absence of which in all former portraits has struck all those who are personally acquainted with the man in the chair of St. Peter's. PITTSBURG DISPATCH, November 23, 1S9(). Pittsburgh's Art World is entertaining Mr. August Benziger of Paris who came here to exe- cute several portrait commissions. The European papers rank him with such men as Dagnan-Bouveret, Chartran, Bonnat, whose pupil he was, Carolus Durand, Benjamin- Constant, Bouguereau, Roll, Lefevre and Fran- cois Flameng. His portraits which attracted the encomiums of all artistic Europe were of the Duchess D'Aosta, wife of the former King of Spain, Duchess Sermoneta of Rome, the Swiss Presi- dent Hauser; Bourgeois the Minister-President of France, Brahms the composer; Firmin-Didot, Hachette and Sir Stuart Knill, Lord Mayor of London. Portrait by A. Ben^Kjtr Copyrighted HIS EMINENCE JOHN, CARDINAL FARLEY of New York With the artistic spirit now growing in Pitts- burgh, the presence of an artist of such note is a matter of general interest to the artists and art lovers of the city. Portrait by A. Jienziycr ARCHBISHOP E. F. PRENDERGAST Philadelphia, Pa. Portrait by A. Benziytr HIS HOLINESS, LEO XIII 12 Portrait liy A. Bemiger Copyrighted HIS HOLINESS, BENEDICT XV This portrait was painted from audiences at the Vatican, within the week of the Holy Father's coronation, September, 1914 CHICAGO TIMES-HKRALD, December 27, 1S96. Portraits by Master Au_!;i(.sl Bcnzigcr in Cliicago, Ilcrc to Execute Commissions Mr. Benziger is a quarter of a century in achance of his contemporaries, for he is scarcely ten and twenty, and he ranks among the fore- most portrait painters of the world. Mr. Benziger paints portraits not to display his mannerism in drawing, in composition or in color, but to set forth his subject as nature has done. He paints without affectation. He paints men and women as the}- seem to their fellow beings. His work is distinguished by painstaking and powerful modeling, giving uncommon strength and suppleness to his figures by gracious lines and sensuous tones. He is a daring colorist, but he never strikes other than a harmonious chord. The strength of his pencil is matched by an original sense of color relations, which without glare or sensation he produces in brilliant and effective tones. His portraits are at once elegant, individual and charming, his draughts- manship is superb. He essays portraits of children laughing at their play, young girls budding into woman- hood, beauties in the prime of their glorj', o'd age in all its sublimity — all of these he presents with unusual dexterity. Portrait by A. Benziger HIS EMINENCE, JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS of Baltimore liy A. Benziger HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL W. H. O'CONNELL of Boston 13 NEW YORK TRIBUNE, February 10, 1901. Special Cable to New York TribiDie, and Chicago Times-Herald, C. I . Barnard. Portraits the Rule Annual Art Exhibit in Paris McKIN LEY'S PICTURE SEEN Full-length Work by August Benzigcr one of the Features and in a Prominent Place Paris, February 9. — Annual show of the painting and sculpture at the Cercle de I'Union Artistique, popularly known as "I'epatant," which opened this week, contains some interest- ing work, portraits, as usual, being pre-eminent. A large full-length portrait of President Mc- Kinley, by August Benziger, already privately exhibited in Washington, dominates everything around it. There is vigor and truthfulness of drawing, the somber coloring gives a touch of solemnity to a picture full of dignity and char- acter, in which one sees not only the man, but the President. jamin Constant's portrait of Comte Delaborde in his green embroidered uniform of the Academy is far too official. August Benziger exhibits a large full length portrait of Mrs. Horace Porter in grayisli blue evening dress. A capital like- ness and an exceedingly decorative picture. LONDON DAILY CHRONICLE, Saturday August 31, 1907. The President's Portrait Sanctuary of Art Among the Swiss Mountains By an American Correspondent If ever you should go to Brunnen, on Lake Luzerne, bide awhile, and you will say with the late Queen Victoria, "This is the loveliest spot in all Switzerland." Your vision will revel in the marvelous color- ing of this matchless Lake of the Four Cantons. Portriiil hy A. Benziger MISS GLORIA CASTELLA of Havana, Cuba Portniit hi/ A. Ilenxiyer MISS ISABEL PEREDA of Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic, So. America NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, Sunday, February 9, 1902. By Special Cable from Paris. The annual picture show of the Cercle Union Artistique, commonly known as the Epatant, comprises S5 pictures, of which 35 are portraits. Indeed portraiture is pre-eminent, not only in quantity, but in quality. The portrait of a lady in black, by Dagnan Bouveret, has grace and distinction. Chartran's portrait of Mrs. Knight is bright and pleasing. Gabriel Ferreir's por- trait of Gaston Boissier is pronounced the strongest work that the painter has done. Bcn- You will view with awe the giant M^'then, pierc- ing with double apex the Northern heavens, and while your eye is held by the Alpine glow of these jagged summits you behold the snow-crowned peaks of Old Urirothstock, king of the mighty chain of mountains that enthrone him, grandest of them all. Forsake the border road, yield not to the temptations of the luxurious Grand Hotel of Brunnen, till you have pushed on straight upwards into the woods, and reached the chalet perched on the shoulder of the cliff. pin tiiiit hi/ A. i:i " ■ ■ I PRESIDENT F(JRRER The democratic President of Switzerland, whose portrait was painted by Mr. Benziger at his studio in Brunnen, Switzerland 15 Mount the turret step? cut in natix'e rock, till you stand at the door of the atelier of the famous Swiss painter, Monsieur lienziger. You knock! Palette in hand the artist advances to f^ive you welcome. Like every American you feel your heart j^o out toward him for his masterly por- trait of the re\cred McKinley, painted in the White House for \'ice-President Hobart. An Eloquent Canvas You confess your intense desire for a glimpse of that crowning creation of his art, the portrait of Theodore Roose\'elt. A big easel is swung aside, and you stand looking into the face, seemingly not of a picture of the President, but of Mr. Roosevelt himself. He appears to step down from the canvas and come forward in all his uniciue virile personality, that he may greet you heartily. His presen,ce fills the room, and dominates it. You forget Monsieur Benziger and his studio. You are in Washington talking with the President. "Good gracious," you ejaculate, "the picture is alive." This master- piece ought to be placed on exhibition in a dumber of our large cities, to be viewed by the masses, that they may better grasp the character of Theodore Roosevelt. BROOKLYN EAGLE, January 16. 1907. Si.xteen portraits by A. Benziger on view are the result of his recent work in America, in England and on the Continent. His sitters are for the most part residents of London, Paris, Zurich, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, and the collection in that respect is a test of Mr. Benziger's ability to portray national types and to bring out whatever individuality his sitter may possess. He is true to what he sees; moreover, he goes to the character of his subject. His technique is a plastic medium ready to his hand. It is natural, therefore, that he should have painted American intentness of purpose and sharpness of eye in the pictures of his subjects. Alertness, poise and independence are also shown in the portraits while a laughing por- trait of Mrs. L. of St. Louis, is American to the core, through its dash and spirit. Strikingly different are the expressions in the portraits of Miss O. S. and Miss M. M. of Zurich, of Lady Guy Chetwynd, London, and of the Princess Duleep-Singh, London, and Mme. Marion, Paris. Their semi-languid poses and facial expressions gave doubtless to the artist, more work than the American faces demanded. Many admire such types of women, but theirs is comparative passivity, while the tjqaical .Vmerican woman does not have to be waked out of a trance by the artist. Mr. Benziger shows this difference in these contrasting pictures. Quite lovely, is the full length por- trait of Mme. Marion; perhaps, for its harmony of color, its ease in pose, its delicate darks and whites against grays and its refined atmosphere it is the choice of the collection. Fascinating, too, is the brunette beauty of the Princess Duleep-Singh with her pensive air and submis- sive dark eyes. Not to be omitted is a rare portrait of the artist's wife. There is also a portrait of Chanoine Chaumont, Paris, in his ecclesiastical robes, as full of color and as sharply delineated as a Yibert, but in the eyes shine a kindlier and softer light than Vibert ever l)ut into his showy ecclesiastics. PHILADELPIUA NORTH AMERICAN Sunday, January 2, 1916. Penna. Men Subjects of Noted Portraitist Benziger Paints Pictures of J. Howell Cummin gs, Schwab and Brasheir USES MASTERS' METHOD Has Achieved the Primacy in His Chosen Branch of Art By William R. Lester August Benziger, of New York, painter ex- traordinary to presidents and popes and cardinals and captains of industry, finished just before the holidays his latest important work, a three- quarter length portrait of J. Howell Cummings, president of the John B. Stetson Company. The sittings for it were given at the Benziger studio on West Fifty-seventh Street in New York, and it is artistically regarded as one of the artist's most notable successes in technical treatment and temperamental characterization. Benziger's primacy in his chosen branch of art has been attained without concessions to the modern method and spirit in portraiture, under inspiration of which drawing, modeling and coloring are simultaneous processes. Art works thus created quickly fade, and in forty or lifty years are gone. Follow Old AI asters' Methods A Benziger portrait, on the contrary, is painted after the manner of the old masters of the renaissance period — a method uninterrupted until the advent, early in the nineteenth century, of machine-made colors in collapsible tubes. The sketch was first carefully and completely drawn, and then the first painting of neutral colors was laid on, designating accurately the masses of light and shade — the chiaroscuro — the entire work. Then, after this was quite dry, the coloring was laid on, glaze after glaze, until the sense of mere paint disappeared, and the flesh tints seemed soft and transparent as in life. A picture so painted endures almost forever. There is no short cut to perfection by anj' other route, and Benziger has never tried to find one. At the present time he is perhaps the most distinguished living exemplar of classical art and technique in portraiture. The world of important people has a knack of finding out such men, and in consequence, J\Ir. Benziger during his long and laborious career has painted the portraits of no end of notabiUties — generals, ambassadors, princes, world-famous beauties of high rank, and rulers, statesmen and industrial magnates of high and far degrees. 16 Portrait by A. Uenziyer THE LATE PORFIRIO DIAZ Former President of Mexico, who, though an exile, was anxious and broken-hearted over the con- dition of his country 17 Adept ill Portraying Women By some curious twist of talent, this master of characterization in two dimensions is also adept in j)ortrayinf; the peculiar charms of femininity and the grace and beauty of children. It was as a painter of women's portraits, in fact, that Benziger iirst attained high reputation in his Paris studio where he began his artistic career of independent virtuosity thirty years ago. Reproductions in black and white of these [)()rtraits fail to convey their indefinable charm of perfect modeling and brilliant coloring. Sometimes — as in the Brashear portrait — well- balanced accessories impart to the dull mono- chrome some of the warm, pulsing vitality of the original, yet always there is some loss of the painter's thought. But the vivid characteriza- tion, revealing the inmost soul of the sub- ject, is as apparent here as upon the painter's canvas. It is a strong and suggestive combination — industrial magnate, steel king and scientist — great Americans greatly painted. NEW YORK HERALD, Sunday, January 13, 1907. Portraits by Mr. August Benziger Characteristic of Mr. August Benziger's portraiture are the portraits of Miss A. N. Oliver and Mrs. Lambert. The latter might have as a subtitle "The Joy of Living," it is so vivacious, with the laugh on the subject's lips, the movement and poise of the figure and the general swing and buoyancy that characterize the canvas. A certain distinguished grace is a noticeable feature of the portrait of Miss Oliver. The composition, with the beautiful collie as pet companion to the young woman, and the landscape background, is highly effective. His career and his art have been excellently characterized by an anonymous critic. "Mr. Benziger studied in Paris under Bonnat and under Bouguereau and he reflects certain char- acteristics of both these great masters. He has Bonnat's clear perception of the picturesque possibilities of his subject and Bouguereau's delicacy of touch and facile management of carnations, without, however, any of the latter's waxen smoothness of surface. He is not in- debted to either of his teachers for manner or method or for anything but direction given to the severe, persistent toil by which his command of technique has been acquired. " Gifted with natural powers of observation, with alert intelligence and with capacity for solid hard work, he has wrought out his own salvation in his own way, and both in his atti- tude toward his subject and in his manner of treatment he maintains a vigorous independ- ence at once original and strikingly effective. His attaque is bold and confident, his touch direct and certain. BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, New York, Friday, January 3, 1908. Portraits Strong Character Painting by A . Benziger That A. Benziger is one of the strongest char- acter portrait painters we now have is shown by a glance at eleven of his works on exhibition at Knoedler's, 355 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. First to greet you, on the opposite wall as you enter the gallery, is President Roosevelt's por- trait. It is strong and realistic. The President, in frock coat, stands as though he had risen from his desk and, leaning forward slightly, peers through his glasses to question your errand. There is no attempt to make him look pretty. His features are exactly set down, even to his irregulary shaped nose and the hairs of his mus- tache bristling in various ways. Prominent in the collection is a large portrait of the late Presi- dent McKinley, the really wonderful feature of which is the expression of the eyes. In this accomplishment by the artist, Mr. McKinley expressed himself as delighted after the last sitting. Mr. Benziger has, moreover, caught the expression of quiet dignity, and the quiet smile and the benignity, so characteristic of McKinley. A portrait of President Forrer of Switzerland shows a leonine face, and the eyes bespeak fine intelligence and capacity for gentleness. Very strong in psychology also is a portrait of J. Malcolm Forbes of Boston, known in higher circles of sport, and one of E. L. McClain, a successful business man of Greenfield, O. The late General T. J. Wood is shown in a wonder- fully good portrait reconstructed from photo- graphs and data. The picture shows him in uniform and with medals. The work is to go to West Point Mihtary Academy. Other strong examples are portraits of Mrs. E. L. McClain, Fayette Brown of Cleveland, O.; Miss Elizabeth Rees, a little Southern beauty of Memphis, Tenn., and Miss and Master Hoster. a fine com- position and well painted, as to likeness, like all other work on view painted by Mr. Benziger. NEW YORK IIER.4LD, Monday, January 10. 1910. Mr. Benziger Exhibits Convincing Portraits Individuality of Subjects Brought Out in Likenesses of Cardinal Gibbons, President Diaz, Mr. John Pit- cairn and Others in His Studio Intimate and con\'incing portraits are those which Mr. A. Benziger has placed on exhibition in his studio, at No. 140 West Fifty-seventh Street. This American artist depicts his subjects amid their own surroundings, and as a result his .J Portrait by A. Benxiger PRESIDENT McKINLEY The above was painted at the White House after the Spanish-American war. Another portrait was painted by the order of Vice-President Hobart portraits have an air of individuality which brings the observer closely in touch witii the personaHties which the artist jwrtrays. One of the most important canvases shown represents Cardinal Gibbons. Although the prelate is clad in his vestments of rich red, the painter has subordinated the hue and texture of the robes so that attention is concentrated upon the face. The countenance is serene, intellectual, spirituelle, and the expression of the clear blue eyes has been admirably caught. The body is in shadow below the waist, thus eliminating the scarlet tones and concentrating the light about the head. One of the most finished portraits of the exhibi- tion is that of Mr. John Pitcairn, of Philadelphia. It suggests the style of Hoppner or of Raeburn. Mr. Pitcairn is of a literary turn of mind, as is indicated by his pensive air and by his surround- ings. Strangely contrasted with his picture is the adjoining portrait of President Diaz of Mexico. It is filled with dynamic force. The idea of the restless energy of the man and his strength of character is suggested in his self-reliant pose. The canvas is brilliant in color, for the Mexican ruler is in full uniform and adorned with orders and other insignia of rank. NEW YORK HERALD, Thursday January 5, 1911. Mr. Benziger Shows Portraits of Famous Men Well Painted Likenesses of Justice O'Gorman, General Woodford, President Diaz, Colonel Roosevelt Among Those in Artistes Studio Portraits which are first of all likenesses, but which also have a certain expression of ideality, are on exhibition in the studio of their painter, Mr. A. Benziger, at No. 140 West Fifty-seventh Street. Mr. Benziger succeeds always in pre- senting a portrait faithful to every feature of his subject. Among these new portraits is one of Justice James A. O'Gorman, of the Supreme Court. It shows the jurist in his gown of office and glancing up from the study of some knotty point of law. The thoughtful look on his face and the char- acteristic pose of the hand holding the recently removed eyeglasses show how well the painter studied the mannerisms of the sitter. .\n unfinished portrait of General Stewart L. Woodford is an exceptionally strong example of the artist's methods. It shows a strong fore- head and a face marked by a lifetime of accom- plishments as soldier, dii)lomat and financier. The modeling is excellent. There is also a portrait of Mr. Geo. Allen of Philadelphia, which is marked by the realistic manner in which the artist has depicted the eyes. There is plenty of open air suggested in the small portrait of Dr. Owsley, of Virginia, who is shown in hunting costume beside his favorite mount and with two of his dogs at his feet. Other portraits are those of President Diaz, of Mexico; Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Colonel George W. Roosevelt and Miss Margaret Jack- NEW YORK SUN, Sunday, November 2, 1913. Remarkable Likeness in Last Portrait of Late J. P. Morgan Picture by August Benziger Was Painted by Artist Without Sittings During Period of Two Years What is thought to be the last portrait ever painted of the late J. Pierpont Morgan can now be seen in the studio of the artist August Benziger. Mr. Benziger never had any sittings from the great financier, but during a term of two years he never missed an opportunity to see and study Mr. Morgan. Counting one of Mr. Morgan's partners in the banking firm among his personal friends, he was frequently in the downtown offices, and it was there he made most of his studies, always without the knowledge of the banker. In that way the artist was enabled to watch his subject at a time when he was ab- solutely free from self-consciousness, a malady that is sure to attack those who enter a regula- tion studio to have their portraits painted, and also to see the man as he was in the midst of the work in which the entire world came to have so keen an interest. Such of Mr. Morgan's business associates as have seen the picture agree that Mr. Benziger has secured the look and attitude that they knew so well. The likeness is unmistakable, but what is more remarkable is the look of command, of quiet force, for Mr. Morgan was of those whose will was imposed upon others without much visible eff'ort upon his part. For years Mr. Benziger wished to do this portrait, for he felt that a faithful record would be held of value by the community, and that in course of time it would be regarded as a historic document. He would have preferred to have had some sittings, but resolved to paint the picture without them. Mr. Morgan was always chary of sitting to artists, but in addition to his dislike of sitting his time when in America was too much given to public affairs to permit of it. For that reason he was better known to the public at large in Europe than here. In America he rushed from one committee meeting to another; in Italy and France he was at leisure, and the people of those countries came to know him very well from constantly seeing him in the galleries and upon the public promenades. Mr. Benziger made the first sketches for the portrait about the time of the Hudson-Fulton Memorial exhibition at the Metropolitan Mu- seum of Art, where Mr. Morgan could be fre- quently encountered. He saw him frequently in Europe after that but made his last studies 20 Portrait hy A. Betiziger THEODORE ROOSEVELT Twenty-sixth President of the United States, who proved a most interesting sitter, keeping up running fire of conversation on a wide range of subjects 21 in the banking ofllces here just before Mr. Morgan sailed on his last voyage to Italy. The background and certain details of the painting were finished after his death. "How an artist can achieve a portrait like this without directly drawing from the model must always be mystery to the world at large," said Mr. Benziger, "but those in the profession understand that a large share of every portrait that is painted from life is painted more from the artist's idea of the model than from the model himself. You form a conception of the in- dividual at the beginning, and that is what you strive to represent. In the meantime your model, fatigued by the posing or rendered self- conscious by the unusual surroundings of the studio, becomes less and less hke himself, so that you are continually forced to paint the expression that you remember instead of the expression that you see before you." PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC LEDGER, Thursday, December 21, 1911. Portraits by A. Benziger Work of Celebrated Swiss Painter Placed on Exhibition An exhibition of 22 portraits by August Benziger opened yesterday. Mr. Benziger, born in 1867 at Einsiedeln, Switzerland, was a pupil of Bouguereau and of Bonnat, and his fame was established by his portrait of Pope Leo XIII, painted in 1893. The present exhibition in- cludes .likenesses of prominent personages, in each instance loaned by their owners, and all of them bearing testimony to the salient abilities of the painter. The personal distinction of many of the sitters is in itself a tribute to Mr. Benziger's artistic standing and international repute. The portrait of President McKinley, made at the time of the Spanish War, depicts him evidently perpending the momentous issues of the conflict. The likeness of Roosevelt is eager, animated — the concentration and pith of virile energy — it fairly steps forward from the frame to greet the observer. Next it is the imposing presentment of Diaz, in which the qualities that established the Dictator in mas- terful pre-eminence in Mexico are vividly dis- closed. Of particular local interest is the por- trait of Archbishop Prendergast, a peculiarly human and speaking likeness in natural and characteristic attitude. Governor John K. Tener, John Pitcairn and the late Dr. John Meigs, the well-loved headmaster of the Hill School at Pottstown, are others whose per- sonality has been projected on canvas by the felicitous brush of the painter. There is a forceful and arresting portrait of Cardinal Gibbons, which is among the best in the room. The winsome identity of Miss O'Gorman, daughter of Senator O'Gorman, of New York — whose likeness is next that of his daughter — is visualized on a canvas in which there is a subtle contrast of flesh-tones, Romneyescjuc hair, and diaphanous black chiffon and embroidery. A charming vision indeed is that of Mrs. R. A. Moore, of Orange, Tex., a figure of lissome grace and ethereal buoyancy. JVIrs. William Speer Kuhn, of Pittsburgh, is shown in an engagingly frank and naive pose with her small son — a beam of sunlight — in her lap. Mr. and Mrs. George Allen, of Philadelphia, and their daughter, and Mrs. Allen T. Haight are painted with similar fidelity to the essential nature of the subject, and an equal degree of creative insight and delineative cunning. CI NCI NN A TI ENQUIRER, October 20, 1908. Tribute Paid to Art and Artists The dinner tendered by A. Howard Hinkle at the Queen City Club last evening in honor of A. Benziger was a real tribute to Art and Artists. The occasion was arranged for the purpose of permitting a small coterie of the many friends of the host to view the excellent likeness of Mr. Hinkle, the product of the brush of Mr. Benziger. The painting is truly a speaking likeness and brought forth the highest encomiums from the artists and others present, among whom were Congressman Longworth, Supt. Gest of the Art Museum, Chas. P. Taft and Artist Farny. All of whom spoke upon different art topics. CINCINNATI TIMES-STAR, October 16, 1906. Of Mr. Hinkle's portrait one involuntarily says the words used by Mr. McKinley when his picture had been finished — "Benziger, you've caught my soul." Not only are his features reproduced with re- rnarkable fidelity, but the portrait fairly radiates his personality. The pose is an unusual one and filled with meaning and sentiment. Seated in his ofiice, high in the Union Trust building, the light from the East falls upon the face and brings out to perfection the kindly spirit that looks forth from the clear eyes and which to Mr. Hinkle's friends means the man himself. The pose of the portrait is natural and easy and the likeness so perfect that when both por- trait and subject are reflected by means of a mirror, it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. Benziger is acknowledged one of the four greatest portrait painters of the world to- day. DAYTON, 0., DAILY NEWS. The portrait of Major C. B. Clegg is on e.x- hibition in Dayton and the rare excellence of the work is attracting more than usual attention. It is the work of the famous portrait painter, A. Benziger, who is known in all art circles in this and foreign countries as the leading painter of likenesses of the times. The likeness is most excellent, while the coloring in the picture makes it almost lifelike in its appearance. Portrait by A. Benziger __ WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT Twenty-seventh President of the United States. In the above portrait the intellect and big heart of the sitter are faithfully portrayed 23 PHILADELPHIA IXQCIRKR, December 9, 190(5. A pupil of Honnat and Bougucrcau of Paris, Mr. Bcnziger was early trained in the true technics of painting. During upwards of eleven _\ears he has been known to fame, and has during this period, assiduously applied himself to char- acterization in portraiture unhampered and according to his own bent, with the result that his work shows a brilliancy and individuality second to no other artist, while still in the full powers of young manhood. PHILADELPHIA EVENING TELEGRAPH, Thursday, December 20, 1906. An Eminent Artist Visits Philadelphia Auguslc Benzigcr the Distinguished Swiss Portrait Painter HIS WORK NOW ON VIEW Mr. Benziger is gifted with natural powers of observation, with alert intelligence, and with capacity for solid hard work, he has wrought out his own salvation, in his own way, and, both in his attitude toward his subject and in his manner of treatment he maintains a vigorous independ- ence at once original and strikingly effective. His attaque is bold and confident, his touch direct and certain, his work having the quality of simplicity due to his knowing exactly what he intends to do and perfectly well how to do it. He has a searching eye for detail and is con- scientiously faithful in representing fact as he sees it, but at the same time, he can on occasion e.xercise artistic discrimination in matters of environment and accessories, leading to happy results without sacrificing the truth. PHILADELPHIA RECORD, December 24, 1911. News of the Art World Remarkable Exhibition of Portraiture Shown by the Painter of Our Presidents GROUP OF CELEBRITIES August Benziger' s Pictures By Francis J. Ziegler Quite a remarkable art exhibition, a one man show, which is deservingly attracting consider- able attention just at present, is the collection of portraits by Auguste Benziger. The painter, Swiss by birth, American by recent naturaliza- tion, has been fortunate in being able to pick his sitters from those eminent in the higher walks of life. Statesmen of international fame, financiers known all over the world, clericals of wide repute, professional men of note, these have served as his models, have sat before his easel and discussed matters of grave moment with him while he was busy with his brush. As a result, the present exhibition might be de- scribed as a portrait gallery of celebrities. In- dividually they are of importance, not only as works of art, but as historical documents of value, :^ :|e % 4: :f: :«: The pictured visages of three Presidents have their place in this display. Two of our own. Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, and one of a sister Republic, President Diaz of Me.xico. Both the McKinley portrait and that of Roose- velt are admirable likenesses, simple in composi- tion, direct in handling, one feels as if the men themselves stood before one, instead of canvases covered with pigments. ****** One of the strongest works in the exhibition is the recently painted portrait of Archbishop Prendergast, of Philadelphia, an admirable bit of work, virile in every touch of the brush. In handling it differs considerably from the neigh- boring portraits, a fact which illustrates that the painter is not limited to any one style of work, but varies his technique to suit the subject. PHILADELPHIA STAR, December 27, 1911. Exhibition of Benzlger's Work Portraits of N^otables Mr. Benziger shows 22 portraits in this ex- hibition and they are all of prominent men and women who would only sit for one who had attained marked distinction in his profession. They are characterized, one and all, by a sincere desire to do justice to the personality of the sitter and to produce a faithful likeness combined with distinguishing traits of character, moral and physical, rather than to exploit the idiosyncrasies or affectations of the painter. The twenty-two have been loaned by their owners and include portraits of well-known persons. Such a collection of canvases of notables is seldom got together. PHILADELPHIA NORTH AMERICAN. De- cember 24, 1911. Noted Portraits Seen In Benzlger's Exhibit Here Evidences of the Portraiture Genius of Augtiste Benziger, World-wide Reputation FOREMOST MEN OF AMERICA AMONG SITTERS FOR HIS BRUSH By William R. Lester Some striking portraits of men distinguished in affairs and of women, embodying grace, dignity and beauty, the work of A. Benziger, have been arranged for public exhibition. 24 Portrait by A. Benziger MISS AMELIA OLIVER of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 26 Mr. Benzigcr is one of the few artists who have attained world recognition as leading por- trait painters. Since this exhibition was in- stalled, admirers of this difficult, elusive and fascinating branch of i)ictorial art have flocked in gaj' troops to study and wonder at these latest productions of genius in portraiture. Art work of this class, with subjects socially or officially pre-eminent represented by a master tehnician of amazing p^'schologic insight, is tardily coming into its own again, after long years of neglect and eclipse. As photography swept away a vast rabble of minor portrait painters during the last century, so now the succeeding generation of impressionists and sketch producers is receding into the background of the art world. An artist's vagrant fancy, hurriedly transferred to canvas, is now recog- nized as a study, not a portrait; which, as in these Benziger pictures, is a vital denotement of soul, spirit, and character, expressed in lofty terms of finished art. How intense and dominant is this mysterious power of characterization that makes for artistic supremacy in portraiture is apparent in a survey of Mr. Benziger's works in this current exhibition. Something more than mere likeness informs and vivifies these counterfeit presentments. Like some flashing revelation, there appears to the eye and imagination the chill dignity and indomitable spirit of Diaz of Mexico; the hectoring, tumultuous assertiveness of Roose- velt; the broad sagacious sacerdotalism of Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Prendergast; the massive, over-mastering mentality of the late Dr. John Meigs, head of the famous Hill School; the serene judicial poise and reflective impress pi Senator O'Gorman, of New York, painted in his judicial robes, and kindred subtle characterizations of men and women of com- mercial and social distinction — these qualities and conditions are truthfully proclaimed from Benziger's canvases as though by the sitters in their own proper persons. These attributes of greatness in portraiture are impossible of realization without vast labor, joined to high technical skill and perfect mastery of detail of elusive expression. NEW YORK AMERICAN ART NEWS December 12, 1914. James B. Townsend A. Benziger has recently completed a three- quarter length seated portrait of Cardinal Farley, begun at the artist's country residence in Brunnen, Switzerland, last summer, and is showing the work to friends at his studio, 140 West 57th Street, with other portraits of such prominent men as the late J. Pierpont Morgan, the late Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, Charles M. .Schwab, etc. In his portrait of Cardinal Farley, Mr. Benziger has produced one of his most successful works. The likeness is faithful, the pose easy and typically dignified, and the expression admirable. The Cardinal's robes are also exceedingly well painted. NEW YORK HERALD, November 2, 1915. 2Mr. A. Benziger recently painted a life size sketch of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, representing him with a re- ceiver at his ear, talking with San Francisco, in the memorable recent test of the wireless telephone. The portrait is executed in Mr. Benziger's well known exact style, being most faithful in its portraiture. PITTSBURGH MARGARET CARNEGIE PERIODICAL, devoted to Literary, Sciciilijic and Technical Work, May, 1915. Two Friends Some weeks since the New York Herald published an article that gave an account of the execution by the painter Mr. A. Benziger, of a commission of two portraits for Mr. Charles M. Schwab. The illustrations accompanying the article were admirable black and white repro- ductions of the portraits, and formed a page that had a peculiar interest for anyone who has had any associations with the Carnegie Institute of Technology, for the artist's subjects were Mr. Schwab and Dr. John A. Brashear. The portraits, intended, we believe, for Mr. Schwab's own galleries, seemed wonderfully good, and background and settings chosen were characteristic of certain activities of the sitters. Though conceived before the Great War opened, the idea of portraying Mr. Schwab with a background of huge cannon and armament seems apropos in these days, when Peace is being as violently begged for by neutrals as it is being bloodily fought for by the belligerents. Stand- ing before his American guns in frank and smil- ing friendliness of gaze upon the world, Mr. Schwab is a reassuring sight. It is not well in a period of barbarism to forget that art and prac- tice of gun building in America. The Steel- master's vocation has its peaceful aspects, but for dramatic value in picture and story, for peaceful days those aspects yield to the war- like, hence the choice of the cannon by the painter in his search for unusual effect. The world was not wearied and surfeited then with tales of the cruel work of war's guns. This portrait might be said to typify, not the will to power but the will to peace. Peace; the ordered course of the stars, the lov^eliness of aspect of the common things of daily life, color, harmony, all are suggested in the background, framing the setting for the second portrait. Telescope and microscope are at the hand of their prophet. Wise in the ways of the heart of mankind is this scholar, who, hke Francis of Assisi, is brother to the clouds, the stars and the flowers. The likeness achieved by the portrait is a loving one, so instinct with the sitter's kindly spirit does the painter make it seem — "Uncle John" to life. One wishes that Copley or other adequate prints, made in half to three-quarters size of the original portraits, could be procured to be framed and hung on the walls of the Recrea- 26 tion Room. With the picture of Dr. Brashear might be inscribed that message from one of his letters to the M.M.C.S. Alumnie: "Let your motto be never to let a day pass without having done some good to some fellow traveler over life's rough road, and you will always be happj' in so doing. "Ever yours, Uncle John Brashear." NEW YORK TRIBUNE, November 14, 1897. A Portrait of the President The Work of Mr. Benziger, a Young Swiss Artist Who Also Painted one of the Vice-President Washington, November 13. — The President has within the last few weeks given a number of sittings to a young Swiss artist. The result is a portrait which is not only a mere likeness, but a creditable work of art as well. It is destined to become the property of the Vice-President, who gave the commission for it to Mr. Ben- ziger. Mr. Hobart had his own portrait painted by the same artist, and a fair idea of both pictures may be gained by an exami- nation of the accom- panying prints. It is not often that the President finds the time to sit for an artist. A few mo- ments now and then snatched from clam- orous applicants for office or the consid- eration of important public questions are all that the occupant of the White House, even with the best intentions, can offer. Mr. Benziger, there- fore, while painting the portrait, was com- pelled to be almost constantly at the White House, where, in one of the ante- rooms on the lower floor, a temporary studio with the proper light and the necessary acces- sories had been fitted up for him. Here it was that he had an opportunity to study McKinley the man. The President would drop in at odd moments, glad, no doubt, to escape the throng of poHticians in another part of the house, for a quiet chat or smoke with the artist and an examination of the canvas as it developed under Portrait by A. Benziger PROFESSOR KOCHER The celebrated surgeon of Berne, Switzerland, who was the first to discover the operation of the goitre, as well as many other wonderful operations. He is ranked as one of the most famous surgeons of Europe the artist's hands. At other times, however, — and here it was that the man yielded to the I'resident — the easel and the necessary draperies would be placed in the large East Room, near one of the Northern windows. On such occa- sions the President received, while sitting, or, more properly speaking, perhaps, standing, for his portrait, members of the Cabinet and other high functionaries of State, with whom he would discuss, in the presence of the artist, important questions of policy or listen to reports submitted for his consideration and decision. BOSTON HERALD, May 5, 1907. "Mr. Benziger is a deep student of human nature, and it is here that the secret of his greatness is revealed. With rare genius he catches the very thoughts of the heart, appar- ently, and portrays them in the faces and figures of his subjects." Appleton Publishing Co. Washington, D. C, Nov. 13, 1897. Mr. a. Benziger, New Yok City. Dear Sir: — In response to a letter of mine to Pres- ident McKinley, re- questing a recent and favorite likeness of himself for publica- tion in the special European edition of my weekly journal. Illustrated Life, for international distri- bution, I received a letter this morning from Mr. John Addi- son Porter, private secretary to the presi- dent, suggesting that you might send us a photograph of the jiortrait you painted of the President. I shall very much appreciate the cour- tesy if you will send me the photograph as early as possible; and also if you will also send me a photograph of yourself at the same time, for pubHcation in the edition re- ferred to, together with a brief sketch of your life and work. Very truly yours A. Stewart Appleton, Pres. Appleton Publisliing Co. 27 PARIS LK MONDE. "Our most celebrated artists are represented at the exhibition of the Union Artistique: Honnat, Roybet, Caroliis Diirand, Ben/.iger two remari